


The Soldier

by LadyDarkPhoenix (Phoenixfire), Somiko_Raven



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Gun Violence, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Military Homophobia, Murder, Period-Typical Homophobia, Psychological Torture, Torture, Waterboarding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 19:58:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12539984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixfire/pseuds/LadyDarkPhoenix, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somiko_Raven/pseuds/Somiko_Raven
Summary: There's something wrong with Bucky. Something very wrong and it may have dire consequences for his friends and loved ones.





	1. Activation

**Author's Note:**

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> Written for the Stucky Scary Bang 2017.
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> Artwork by: Somiko_raven

It was a quiet day in the tower, a rare down day where nobody seemed to be attacking and everyone could relax. Tony had Bucky up in the lab with Steve, poking around the inner workings of his arm to see if there was anything he could find to help as it had been hurting the man more and more recently.

“Hmm, that's interesting…” Tony muttered as he poked at something in Bucky's shoulder. “Looks like there's something disconnected in here. Not sure what it is, but that might be part of your problem.”

Bucky's right hand held Steve's, glad for his boyfriend's presence. It still felt strange and dangerous to be in this time where what they were wasn't illegal like when they first got together, but Steve was willing to take things slow with him as he adjusted to being free in the modern world. His head felt a bit fuzzy as Tony reconnected wires, but nothing else seemed to be wrong so he ignored it.

“Alrighty, try that out and if you're still having problems, we can try something else,” the genius stated as he replaced the casing with a smile.

Bucky shook his head a bit as the static seemed to overtake his head, but didn't mention it, instead muttering a simple, “Thanks,” as he stood to walk out. 

Steve followed, noticing the way Bucky was shaking his head slightly. “You okay?”

“I'm fine, you know it messes with me when I have to get this thing worked on,” he answered, moving the arm to see if anything else had changed. Nodding, Steve dropped the conversation, not wanting to make a big deal over a little thing. 

They went to the common room to relax and see if anyone was around. Natasha and Clint were sprawled on the couch, watching reruns of his favorite show. “Hey, how you feeling?” she asked Bucky as the men sat on a nearby couch. 

Bucky shrugged, stiffening slightly as Steve put his arm around him, a usual reaction to any display of affection around anyone. 

A strange feeling that he wasn't supposed to be here, that neither was the redhead across from him, came out of nowhere as the others chatted idly while the show continued to play in the background. Something inside him was giving him thoughts on how Natasha was a traitor as she laughed and joked with Clint and Steve. Bucky blinked, suddenly feeling tired, forcing himself to curl up against Steve to take a nap, or so he thought.

It wasn't too long before Natasha felt Bucky's eyes staring at her. “What?” she asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the hard look she was getting.

“I want to spar. Need to train, come with me,” he replied, standing up with little regard for the shocked look from Steve as Bucky almost violently shook off his arm as he moved.

Clint glanced at Natasha, silently asking her if everything was alright. She gave a slight shake of her head in response, slowly stretching as she stood. “Okay, it's been awhile since I've had a challenge.”

They rode the elevator in silence, Bucky's posture stiff as he stared ahead, not acknowledging her. Something wasn't right. This wasn't like the man Natasha had gotten to know since his return. He was acting more like the man who'd trained her, but that couldn't be, he'd broken that programming before he returned. She figured he was just over stressed and needed the physical release of combat to feel better as they got to the gym and prepared to fight.

Natasha eyed Bucky warily as they circled each other on the training mat, noticing the unusual, but hauntingly familiar look on his face. “Why the sudden urge to train?” 

A feral smile broke upon his face. “Little spider grew up into such a beauty. I'm glad I got a shot at you before anyone else. Now, time to see which is more deadly; a spider or a ghost.”

Momentarily thrown off guard with his words, Natasha was barely able to duck under the punch he threw her way. Nobody had called her that in years, not since she'd defected. Something wasn't right. Bucky was more savage than usual as he came at her again, going right for the weak points he knew so well. It was almost as if… but it couldn't be, he'd been deprogrammed. Natasha found herself fighting like her life depended on it as the man kept coming at her. She tried to subdue Bucky, not wanting to hurt him anymore than necessary, but she wasn't going out easily if this was to be her final battle.

Bucky kept coming, not flinching as Natasha pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to get him between the legs. He just took it like there was no feeling in his body as he used the placement of her foot to bring them both down, pinning her under him. “Little spider's lost her touch. You were so promising too, but I'm sure you've figured out my little secret by now.”

Struggling under him, Natasha’s eyes went wide. She had been right, something had triggered inside him. There was real fear in her as he picked her up by her neck to hold her against him, her back against his chest almost like a lover as his hands went to tightly grip her head. “You don't have to do this; you broke free before, fight it.”

Bucky, the soldier, laughed, “You know my secret.” He suddenly twisted his hands, revelling in the sharp crunch as Natasha's head was turned so she was looking at him, though her body was still facing away. He let go, watching as her lifeless body crumpled to the ground. “Goodbye, little spider.”

 

Quickly assessing his options, the soldier retrieved one of the discarded punching bags to stuff her body in until he could properly dispose of it later. He then went over to a terminal in the wall, determined to get rid of the evidence.


	2. Elimination

Bucky woke up in the bed he shared with Steve, feeling sore and out of sorts. It was like he'd been in a fight, but couldn't remember who or what he'd fought. Sighing, he got up to figure out what time it was since he couldn't remember anything past sitting down with Steve in the common room. It was considerably darker, that much he could see, but it didn't give him a clue as to how much time had passed since leaving the lab until now. Padding out the door, Bucky looked at the lit up display of the living room clock. It was hours since he last remembered anything.

His breathing picked up. He hadn't lost time since he'd gotten himself under control; something wasn't right. But he had been doing so good. He didn't want to ruin anything by admitting it to anyone just incase it caused him to lose his new found freedom, so Bucky shoved down his panic and vowed not to say anything unless it got worse. It wasn't like he was hurting anyone. Besides, they had more important things to worry about than him missing a few hours here and there. 

Shaking his head, Bucky decided to head down to the shooting range to let off some of his nervous energy. Ever since he'd been drafted, the feel of a gun in his hands and the stillness of his mind and body as he marked the perfect shot had always calmed him, made him the sniper he'd been before helping make him the killer he was. Thoughts straying to his past on the trip down, he barely noticed the other person in the room when he arrived, the soft twang and thump of arrows being loosed and hitting their target barely catching Bucky's notice as he walked over to the weapons cabinet to see what caught his eye.

Bucky jumped when he heard Clint's voice address him, “Hey man, you know where Nat went? Haven't seen her since you guys left; she was supposed to meet me here a while ago. She's not answering her phone and haven't gotten any other messages from her either.”

The strange static feeling was back in his head as he brushed his hand over a couple handgun choices. “No, haven't seen her in a while. Not since we were in the common room together.”

Clint looked at Bucky strangely. “But you left to spar with her.”

Suddenly straightening his posture, Bucky turned to him. “Yes, and we decided to go our separate ways after. I'm not her keeper, so stop asking. You want to shoot with me? See who's really the best marksman.”

Uneasy but not sure why, Clint stepped up beside the larger man. “I guess it might be fun, what's your poison?”

They both agreed on the guns they would be using, loading the magazines before donning protective glasses and headphones. Bucky gestured for Clint to step up to the range first, leaving his weapon on a table behind them. Nervously, the blonde stepped up. Something about the other man was off, he could feel it in his gut. He had a feeling if he didn't act normal, it would end badly for one of them, so he took a deep breath, getting into his shooting stance. He shot off a couple rounds, each bullet hitting the target in the exact center.

While Clint was shooting, Bucky slowly came up behind him. He didn't want to have the agent alarmed, but he was being too nosey about the spider. The Asset’s memory of previous conversations coming in handy as The Soldier assessed the situation. This man was a close friend of the redhead, therefore he would expose them if he thought they'd done something to her and was a target to be eliminated.

Waiting until Clint paused to assess his work to strike, Bucky quickly used his metal hand to grab the arm with the gun, making him keep a hold of it as he forced them both to their knees on the ground. Using the chance he had as Clint opened his mouth in surprise, Bucky forced the barrel of the gun into his mouth, quickly assessing the angle it was being held at for his plan to work. Moving around to be in front of the other marksman, he removed the man's hand from the trigger before pulling it himself, spreading blood and brains on the floor where he'd been before the body fell. Bucky dropped the gun and quickly found the ever present access panel for the computer that watched over everything. Stark’s A.I. may be smart, but The Soldier had no problems overriding his fellow smart system.

Oh how The Soldier was so glad to be activated again. After so long being disconnected from the wetwear of The Asset, it felt so good to be out and killing again. Not many people knew that the technological marvel that was the Winter Soldier's metal arm was actually the housing for a sophisticated artificial intelligence that combined man and machine on a conscious level, allowing the software to take over the subject's body with sophisticated wiring that mimicked the human body's natural electrical pulses so that it was almost like having two people in one body. The Soldier wasn't even sure The Asset knew of its existence, but he enjoyed having a body again, even if he had to hide for now to survive.

The Soldier had just finished wiping the video evidence when he heard footsteps coming near. He quickly retreated, letting The Asset take control to deal with the body and the intruder for now.


	3. Preservation

Tony's voice preceded the man as he called out, “Guys, I've been sent to retrieve you for…” He saw the body laying on the ground, taking a sharp inhale at the gore before rushing over to check Clint's vitals, already knowing what he'd find. “No, no, no, no…” he chanted, shaking.

Bucky could only stare. He couldn't remember anything past walking into the room, now Clint was dead and he had no idea what had happened. Had he done something to his friend? There was also what Clint said about Natasha being missing after he'd apparently asked her to spar. What had happened that he couldn't remember something like that?

Steve joined them in no time after being alerted to the situation, already having alerted the proper authorities as he first tended to Tony, making sure the genius was away from the body and somewhat stable before going over to Bucky. “Hey, you okay?” he asked as he placed a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, not sure if anything more would be welcome at the moment.

Bucky shook his head, not wanting to say anything that would make it seem like he was the one responsible. He was the last person to see Clint alive, he was sure of it, and now that made him the top suspect in his mind. What was happening to him that he kept losing time and people were coming up missing or dead?

Steve led Bucky over to where Tony was sitting, the look of shock on his face telling more than any words could. “I called Rhodey. He should be here soon with the others. Come on, let's get out of here until they need us,” Steve said as he offered the man his hand.

Tony wasn't paying attention as he stared at the bloody scene, not wanting to comprehend any of the scenarios playing in his mind. He'd been exposed to death and war, but this looked like something entirely different. It almost looked like Clint had done it to himself, but that couldn't be right. As hard as the archer’s life had been, he'd never given any indication that this was something he was considering. Why now? The other option was someone had done this to him, but that couldn't be either. He'd personally set protocols to ensure everyone's safety here and if someone had been attacked, he should have been notified immediately. Tony didn't feel safe in his own home. His friend had died and nobody knew. He jumped when Steve touched him, so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed him and Bucky approach.

“Tony, let's go somewhere else. There's nothing we can do but help figure out what happened,” Steve gently said as he pulled the smaller man to his feet, letting him lean against his solid frame.

They went to the common room to wait, Tony still in a state of shock. The three of them sat in silence, jumping a bit as Rhodey joined them.

“Guys, what happened? Are you alright?” the colonel said as he walked over to them on the couch, immediately going to Tony after seeing the state his friend was in.

“I… I don't… how… shouldn't have…” Tony started rambling incoherently, not sure what to say, but needing to talk.

They let him ramble, Steve gently placing a little kiss on Bucky's cheek as he felt the tension in his body. Even after being in war and seeing so many of their friends dead around them, it was still a shock.

Bucky felt fear grip him at the touch of Steve's lips, eyes going wide as panic set in. Not only was he afraid he'd killed Clint, but being kissed in front of a high ranking military man was too much. He jerked away from him, falling off the couch in the process as the need to flee overtook him. Bucky quickly got up, needing to be away from everyone that had seen before the trouble started.

Rhodey quietly watched the exchange, not saying a word as Steve left to take care of Bucky and leaving Tony to him.

“You're staying, right?” Tony asked in a quiet voice. “I… I need you right now…”

“I'm not going anywhere, we'll just call this Avengers business.”

“Good, workshop then. Need to figure out what happened.”

(Some time later)

Settling into his guest room much later after getting Tony calmed down enough and making sure he talked to the agents doing the investigating into Barton’s apparent suicide, Rhodey lay on his bed thinking about what Tony had said about the recent return of Bucky's memories regarding the real relationship he had with Steve back in the war. He got it, he really did, that back then you couldn't be gay and national heroes, the years with Hydra probably hadn't helped either as he doubted they used his sexuality for anything but more pain, but seeing the raw fear on Bucky's face when Steve innocently kissed him in front of them, it broke his heart. He knew that there was a lot of adjusting the man had to do in order to function normally, but to be afraid of people you considered friends with such an important thing like this, it was sad.

“Lights out,” Rhodey said as he moved the covers over himself and the lights slowly dimmed before going completely out, leaving him in the semi-quiet darkness. He had almost fallen asleep when he thought he heard the click of his door being opened. Opening his eyes, Rhodey scanned the darkness for anything unusual. Seeing nothing, he silently cursed himself for being paranoid before rolling over to return to sleep. He had just started to relax again when he heard a slight whirring, which made him move just before a metal fist punched into the pillow where his head had been a moment before. “What the?!”

Rhodey rolled out of bed to see Bucky standing next to his bed, slowly pulling his fist out of the ruined mattress, in the dim light from outside, he could see a blank look on the man's face as he turned to face him.

“Bucky man, it's alright. You're safe here, I'm not a threat!” he tried to get through to him as he scanned the room for something to defend himself with, thinking maybe the other was having some sort of flashback and didn't know what he was doing. Bucky only responded with a roll of his shoulders as he turned, not responding to Rhodey’s voice as he came at him again, metal fist raised to strike at his head. Rhodes dropped down and tried to kick at Bucky's ankles with his leg as he approached to take him down, but was met with quicker reflexes than his own. Bucky merely jumped over the sweeping leg, the training he'd been doing with Steve showing as he came down, fist meeting the side of the other man's head as he landed, stunning him.

Rhodey fell to the ground, panting as Bucky stood silently over him. “Barnes…” he tried one more time, not wanting to believe that after all he'd survived, this would be the end. The assassin crouched down over him, lifeless face a mask of the man he'd come to know as the hard hand wrapped around his throat. Rhodey tried kicking between the other's legs to make him let go as his hands went instinctively to wrap around the wrist, trying to make him let go, get any sort of air into his lungs as he started feeling dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Bucky's face showed no emotion as Rhodey slowly stopped moving, going limp in the hold. With one final squeeze, where he heard the snapping of bones in the throat and neck of the unconscious man, and he let go, leaving the body where it lay.

The Soldier was tiring of all the people meddling. Stark was becoming dangerous, though thankfully The Asset’s lover seemed none the wiser thanks to the body's fear of being discovered and locked away for actions not his own. Yes, it was time to end their time here in the tower with all these heros, but not before he had a little fun.


	4. Completion

Using The Asset's memories, The Soldier went down to where he figured the genius might be in the lab he loved so well. There would be plenty of fun toys there to kill him with and would complete the set. He'd killed the parents, now it was time to kill the child. The Soldier was in luck; as soon as he got to the clear glass walled room, he saw Tony working on something with his back to him. 

Trying the door, he found it locked. So, studying the wall for a minute, he pulled his fist back to punch at what he hoped was a weak spot. The glass shattered, but didn't break so he hit it again, this time causing the entire pane to fall in a spray and allow the overly loud music to come blasting out. The Soldier was glad for the noise, it meant that his target didn't hear his noisy entrance.

He quietly snuck up behind Tony, aiming a quick punch to the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. The Soldier smiled; he was going to have fun with this one. Looking around, he formed a plan. Going over to an adjustable table, he swept off all the items on it before laying the unconscious man on it, grabbing cable to tie down the man's arms and legs before finding a rag and a bucket he filled with water.

“Wakey wakey,” The Soldier said in a sing song voice as he splashed freezing cold water on Tony's face. 

The man slowly came to with a groan, trying to move his limbs, but finding he couldn't. “Wha… Bucky?”

“Not even close, and you're supposed to be a Stark,” he replied, making a show of playing with the rag in his hands.

“What are you doing?” Tony asked, the feeling of panic starting in his chest as he saw the water close by.

“Finishing the job,” The Soldier replied, wetting the rag. “Thought something familiar would be nice, don't you agree?”

“No, no, please no,” Tony begged, thrashing in his restraints as the wet rag was placed over his face. His chest quickly rising and falling as terror overtook him, even before the first bit of water fell to take his breath completely away. He almost cried in relief when the rag was removed after what felt like forever, even though he was sure he'd broken his wrist trying to escape.

"You did this to yourself you know," the thing inside Bucky said as he replaced the cloth and poured more water over the cloth on Tony's face as he screamed. "You reconnected me to him. It's your work that brought me back.” He removed the cloth again, enjoying the sound of ragged breathing for a moment before repeating the motion to watch him thrash.

“S-stop, p-please. I-I’ll do anything you want, please stop,” Tony begged as Bucky got more water to continue.

“You beg just like your mother, weak and useless. I thought you'd die like your father, that man didn't know how to beg. Is it any wonder nobody stays with you? Who would want such a man in their bed? You're just a weak willed man playing at hero. If I were your friend, I'd shoot myself too. Luckily for your other friend, I saved him from dealing with your shit ever again.” The Soldier laughed as he saw how deep his words had cut. Any fight Tony had inside of him disappeared at the news of his friend's demise; this was almost too easy.

The Soldier toyed with him a little while longer before getting tired of the lack of verbal responses. Watching him thrash was only amusing for so long and he'd already heard all the bones break he thought could be broken. He knew Tony had to be in exquisite mental and physical agony right now, but all good things must come to an end. He got one last bucket of water before slowly and steadily pouring it over Tony's covered face as he thrashed around for the last time before suffocating to death as he felt like he was drowning.

The Soldier felt a sense of accomplishment as the genius stopped moving. There was only one more person left to take care of before he’d be free and that would be the most enjoyable by far.


	5. Deactivation

Steve woke suddenly to an empty bed. It wasn't unusual for Bucky to slip out in the middle of the night if his nightmares got too bad, so he didn't think anything of it as he shook off his dream. Seeing it was early yet, he decided to go down to the gym and hit the bags a while. After yesterday, he needed to let off a bit of steam and punching things always seemed to clear his head.

After quickly pulling on a t-shirt, Steve went down to the gym. Grabbing a couple large bags from the pile, he tossed one to the ground before hanging the other. He could already tell he was going to break more than one with the tension he already had. With Bucky acting strangely after Tony's tinkering and Clint's death, his mind went to the worst case scenario. Steve didn't want to give voice to the thought, but it was convenient that Bucky decided to go off and Natasha hadn't been seen, even after Clint's death. 

As he let his thoughts go, the force he was hitting the bag increased, the methodical thumps of his hands a comforting background noise to the tangle of ideas in his head. With one final punch, the bag split like usual, only this time there was an unexpected surprise inside. Spilling out with the sand was Natasha's body, neck obviously broken as her unseeing eyes stared at Steve, who jumped back in surprise. This made two of their friends his love had been the last one to be seen with. Something was seriously wrong and it seemed his worst fear had been confirmed; Bucky was out of control again.

“I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't know. I'll take care of him,” Steve promised the dead woman as he fell into combat mode, listening for anything out of the ordinary as he moved away from her body. His first instinct was to check on the others, but he also didn't want to meet Bucky unarmed. Memories of the last time they'd met in combat and how he'd barely survived spurring a mad dash for the stairs so he could hopefully at least retrieve his shield from their bedroom before meeting his boyfriend in battle. Steve didn't want to fight Bucky, not if he could be saved, but he was trying to prepare himself for the worst. If it came down to it, could he really eliminate the man he loved? The one person he'd sacrificed so much to be with and wanted to protect more than anything, could he do it?

Checking around the corner when he got to their floor, Steve didn't see anyone, but he was still cautious. He knew Bucky was a trained killer and all the years he'd worked without detection was proof enough how dangerous his lover was. Crouching down, he headed towards the bedroom to get what he wanted and hopefully find Bucky before he could escape. As he was just about to reach the bedroom doorway, a shot rang out, hitting where his head had been before he dove through the doorframe, narrowly avoiding being hit.

Steve scrambled on hands and knees to the bed, pulling the shield out just in time to avoid more shots as Bucky trapped him in the room. “Buck, stop!” He shouted, thinking of ways to make him if he didn't voluntarily.

“I'm not Bucky! The Asset has no control anymore, there's just me, just The Soldier. No weak faggot like you.” He removed the empty magazine from the gun, replacing it. “Don't know how you got passed with that disease inside you. I fixed that in him, or rather they fixed him with me. Then they turned me off thinking I was too uncontrollable. Oh, did they have fun with The Asset's body; I saw everything. Want to know how many people used his body and how much he enjoyed it?”

Steve clenched his teeth, flinging the shield to knock the gun out of Bucky's hand, apologizing in his head as bones snapped from the impact. It'd been a long time since that had been used against him. Whatever it was that was inside Bucky was evil, that much he knew. He hoped he could save Bucky from that thing, but it had to be stopped. 

Catching the shield as it rebounded, he immediately had to deflect a punch from The Soldier in Bucky's body using his only good hand left. The thing inside the man fought furiously, trying to rip the shield from Steve's hands when beating though it wasn't getting him anywhere. Praying for forgiveness later, Steve formed a plan and hoped it would work. 

Slamming the edge of the shield into Bucky's face, he pressed the other man back in his stunned state, trying to gain more ground than he had being trapped in the corner of the bedroom and get to the abandoned gun. Even a bit confused, Bucky still tried to get at him, throwing punches and trying to kick as he was pressed back, grabbing the shield and tossing it away just as Steve reached the gun.

The Soldier moved quickly, knocking Steve to the ground, sitting on top of him as he wrapped his hand around his throat. Freezing for a moment, Steve hesitated as darkness danced at the edge of his vision. He really didn't want to hurt his love but there was no choice. He brought the gun up, trying to aim the best he could with shaking limbs and fired. Gasping in air, he looked at the now still form, he'd hit Bucky in the face, destroying any resemblance to the handsome man he'd fallen for. Steve wiped away the moisture under his eyes, thinking it was tears, but when the liquid came away red on his fingertips, he realised it was blood from the shot.

Sitting up, Steve looked at the gun in his hands. Could he really live with himself now? He'd murdered the man he loved without even trying to save him. How did that make him any better than the thing he was trying to stop? 

Staring at the battered and broken body, he thought back to where they had begun. Just two boys from Brooklyn trying to survive together against all odds. Brothers first and then, as they slowly realised the real name for what they were feeling. The fear as they had to hide before the war or risk death. All the sneaking around during, just glad to have each other and be fighting the good fight. Then there was the desperate search when Steve had found out Bucky was still alive and he had to get him back, no matter the cost. Now, now he had taken away the one thing he couldn't live without. The majority of his friends were dead and he was left in a place full of corpses alone. He placed the barrel of the gun in his mouth, contemplating pulling the trigger.


End file.
